Blue Lagoon Portsmouth

[Guest]

Used to be one hell of a good as I remember it

[Theresa]

Used to be one hell of a good as I remember it

We used to go in the early 90s. Always had a great time. Nice floor. We had a 2-seater at the time and Dru sometimes had to sit under my feet in the passenger side footwell all the way down the A3 to get there!

Theresa x

[Russ Vickers]

We used to go in the early 90s. Always had a great time. Nice floor. We had a 2-seater at the time and Dru sometimes had to sit under my feet in the passenger side footwell all the way down the A3 to get there!

Theresa x

Many of the South Coast DJ's cut their teeth at the Blue Lagoon, funny at the time didnt see it as 'cutting edge' but hind sight is a wonderful thing & many of the records played at the BL went on to become very popular all over the UK, had many a happy night here, with you Theresa with many, many others, Jason, Colin, Sue, Lloyd, Julie, Woody, Steve C, Dave Abbott & loads n loads more............inc the woons, Ben Summers OMG you could go on forever, a young Shifty would hurtle down the motorway from Essex in the piss pouring rain, month after month & he DJ'd here now & again too, thats why I would always smile when the great unwashed would moan about him having not served his NS apprentiship......yeah he did & then some, bless him, our luck to have him tho', as many records that went on to become huge were first aired at the BL by him.............some great record deals went down here too, I remember buying Johnny Rogers here amongst many others...............fond memories Theresa. Give my regards to Justin.

Best Wishes

Russ

[Guest MOLLY]

Many of the South Coast DJ's cut their teeth at the Blue Lagoon, funny at the time didnt see it as 'cutting edge' but hind sight is a wonderful thing & many of the records played at the BL went on to become very popular all over the UK, had many a happy night here, with you Theresa with many, many others, Jason, Colin, Sue, Lloyd, Julie, Woody, Steve C, Dave Abbott & loads n loads more............inc the woons, Ben Summers OMG you could go on forever, a young Shifty would hurtle down the motorway from Essex in the piss pouring rain, month after month & he DJ'd here now & again too, thats why I would always smile when the great unwashed would moan about him having not served his NS apprentiship......yeah he did & then some, bless him, our luck to have him tho', as many records that went on to become huge were first aired at the BL by him.............some great record deals went down here too, I remember buying Johnny Rogers here amongst many others...............fond memories Theresa. Give my regards to Justin.

Best Wishes

Russ

Hi Russ,

You forgot me

Molly

[The Tempest]

Had just joined the army and was posted to Aldershot 90 - 93 , apart from trips into London for the 100 club , I went to the Blue Lagoon a few times , absolutely cracking night !! First night I walked in , Keb Darge was on the decks and kicked off with Bari Track , magical !!!!

[Guest]

Blue Lagoon as recomended by Ian Emery after a chat at the urinals at some middle of the road soul do somewhere , Tony and me used to take it in turns to drive there and then sleep in the car as neither one of us wanted to stay sober One track that always reminds me of the BL is "unsatisfied" .

[Theresa]

Hi Russ,

You forgot me

Molly

You were the best looker there Molly, so Russ conveniently chose to forget you as he didn't like the competition

Can I ask your identity then 70sfreak? Were you referring to Tony Lee? First Aldershot guys I met at the BL propping up the bar were Gary Lee & Big Ian, the latter sadly no longer with us.

T x

[Guest MOLLY]

You were the best looker there Molly, so Russ conveniently chose to forget you as he didn't like the competition

Can I ask your identity then 70sfreak? Were you referring to Tony Lee? First Aldershot guys I met at the BL propping up the bar were Gary Lee & Big Ian, the latter sadly no longer with us.

T x

x

[Guest]

Can I ask your identity then 70sfreak? Were you referring to Tony Lee? First Aldershot guys I met at the BL propping up the bar were Gary Lee & Big Ian, the latter sadly no longer with us.

T x

Me and Tony had been going to the Hilsea Lido for a year or two when his brother and Ian etc started going. Only trouble with sleeping in the car was the blokes knocking on the window asking for a light or the time etc. Later found out that over the bridge was a popular meeting area for the local queers

Need any more clues ?

[Theresa]

Me and Tony had been going to the Hilsea Lido for a year or two when his brother and Ian etc started going. Only trouble with sleeping in the car was the blokes knocking on the window asking for a light or the time etc. Later found out that over the bridge was a popular meeting area for the local queers

Need any more clues ?

Ha ha. Is that you then Mr Foreman? How you doin?

[Guest]

Ha ha. Is that you then Mr Foreman? How you doin?

Oh yes it's me . Have you seen the picture of you and Angela K at the IOW hipshaker do in scootering. It's on the free poster , just a small picture and the pair of you are smiling with your mouths clamped shut also a picture on the same poster of a certain ex boyfriend .

Edited October 23, 2008 by 70sfreak

[Theresa]

Oh yes it's me . Have you seen the picture of you and Angela K at the IOW hipshaker do in scootering. It's on the free poster , just a small picture and the pair of you are smiling with your mouths clamped shut also a picture on the same poster of a certain ex boyfriend .

Hi Stevie boy, yes - five years off for good behaviour, back to the rallies and I'm still the centrefold! Both of our mouths clamped shut - now that's unusual. Did you also see a certain ex-husband in the Mersea write-up, looking like one of the Dubliners? I see Loz sneaked in there too - they must have needed to up their ginger quota or something

They were some proper good nites at Hilsea Lido though. I'm sure Colin Barratt got banned because they thought he blocked the toilets up... Was just reminiscing about the place to Justin when we went past for the IOW. That South Coast crowd were so friendly and welcoming. The road down there always seemed endless, although it's not actually that far, but we always seemed to fly home in about 10 minutes

Great to see you recently, and looking so happy mate x

[Guest vinylvixen]

Many of the South Coast DJ's cut their teeth at the Blue Lagoon, funny at the time didnt see it as 'cutting edge' but hind sight is a wonderful thing & many of the records played at the BL went on to become very popular all over the UK, had many a happy night here, with you Theresa with many, many others, Jason, Colin, Sue, Lloyd, Julie, Woody, Steve C, Dave Abbott & loads n loads more............inc the woons, Ben Summers OMG you could go on forever, a young Shifty would hurtle down the motorway from Essex in the piss pouring rain, month after month & he DJ'd here now & again too, thats why I would always smile when the great unwashed would moan about him having not served his NS apprentiship......yeah he did & then some, bless him, our luck to have him tho', as many records that went on to become huge were first aired at the BL by him.............some great record deals went down here too, I remember buying Johnny Rogers here amongst many others...............fond memories Theresa. Give my regards to Justin.

Best Wishes

Russ

I dj'd there in the early 8Ts when the night was run by John who had a scooter shop (?) and a girlfriend called Becky. The venue was amazing - big with a fabulous dancefloor. On the night I dj'd, there was a bit of a fracas at the back of the dancefloor. Johnny jumped off the stage with a hefty object in his hand, broke the land speed record to reach the back of the hall and pacified the said agitators fairly rapidly. I think I played stuff like Toni Lemar, Johnny Sayles, Joy Lovejoy....all a long time ago

[Chris L]

Used to be one hell of a good as I remember it

It was already going by the early 70Ts and before that was an all-nighter called the Portsmouth

Marina. Started in response to the sailors (who mostly came from up North) wanting a kosher NS

venue. A gaggle of the Addlestone crowd used to go...............

Chris L

[Guest vinylvixen]

Started in response to the sailors (who mostly came from up North) wanting a kosher NS

venue.

Chris L

Those sailors got everywhere I have the Royal Navy to thank for getting me into this NS mess in the first place - gaw' bless 'em

[Dave Morris]

Great venue.Superb dancefloor.Think this was one of the first places that started the "No Talc" on dancefloor practice.Had some cracking nights.

[Guest Big C]

It was already going by the early 70Ts and before that was an all-nighter called the Portsmouth

Marina. Started in response to the sailors (who mostly came from up North) wanting a kosher NS

venue. A gaggle of the Addlestone crowd used to go...............

Chris L

The Portsmouth Marina was in Goldsmith Avenue, Fratton - opposite Fratton railway station.

I was fairly regular there from early 1969 - 1972, no sailors in the place when I was there!

.... and yes, I was with the Addlestone (and Woking) crowd who used to turn up!

[Chris L]

The Portsmouth Marina was in Goldsmith Avenue, Fratton - opposite Fratton railway station.

I was fairly regular there from early 1969 - 1972, no sailors in the place when I was there!

.... and yes, I was with the Addlestone (and Woking) crowd who used to turn up!

The only ones I can remember were the Hussey brothers and Abe Malan, it's been a long time, BTW what's your full name ?

Chris Lalor

[Guest Big C]

The only ones I can remember were the Hussey brothers and Abe Malan, it's been a long time, BTW what's your full name ?

Chris Lalor

Chris,

I can remember one night when Abe ferried us down from Woking in two trips to the Marina in his little Sprite or Midget two seater - God knows how long it took but we all got there in the end. Jumped the train to get home Sunday.

Clive

[Guest]

early 7Ts I frequented a club near Fratton called The Bamboo - only small but quality

Was based in Andover at the time - had to escape he country bumpkins somehow

Seriously tho Bamboo had a good northern following and every time I went I got a grilling regards

knowledge of the music/scene/etc etc - happy daze!

[Gelderd Ender]

aye -up, did keith barnes attend every night I,m certain he did and little chris harvey was always there , loved the burger & chips they

sold not forgetting the tunes tho.

[Mal C]

I was trying to remember this place the other day, I used to go with Paul and Jay Sutton, Derek Jack and all the Brighton crew back in the mid 9ts I think, keith and Maxine Woon used to put it on with others right?

remember hearing Colette Kelly - City of Fools for the first time, always loved that record.

Mal.C.

[Dave Abbott]

i was one of the resident DJ's for the last year or so.

Very fond memories of the place and the people

did any one get any photos???

[Guest Voice of reason]

Russ,. Shifty DJ'd once at at the Blue Lagoon and I don't recall him playing anything special at that time! Also, the "Johnny Rogers" you bought from the late Johnny Rolfe.

Many of the South Coast DJ's cut their teeth at the Blue Lagoon, funny at the time didnt see it as 'cutting edge' but hind sight is a wonderful thing & many of the records played at the BL went on to become very popular all over the UK, had many a happy night here, with you Theresa with many, many others, Jason, Colin, Sue, Lloyd, Julie, Woody, Steve C, Dave Abbott & loads n loads more............inc the woons, Ben Summers OMG you could go on forever, a young Shifty would hurtle down the motorway from Essex in the piss pouring rain, month after month & he DJ'd here now & again too, thats why I would always smile when the great unwashed would moan about him having not served his NS apprentiship......yeah he did & then some, bless him, our luck to have him tho', as many records that went on to become huge were first aired at the BL by him.............some great record deals went down here too, I remember buying Johnny Rogers here amongst many others...............fond memories Theresa. Give my regards to Justin.

Best Wishes

Russ

[Guest Voice of reason]

Hi Joe, it was 1981 and the late Johnny Rolfe ran the show. You were with Martin at the time. Do you remember going to Southampton and twisting your knee on the Dancefloor?

I dj'd there in the early 8Ts when the night was run by John who had a scooter shop (?) and a girlfriend called Becky. The venue was amazing - big with a fabulous dancefloor. On the night I dj'd, there was a bit of a fracas at the back of the dancefloor. Johnny jumped off the stage with a hefty object in his hand, broke the land speed record to reach the back of the hall and pacified the said agitators fairly rapidly. I think I played stuff like Toni Lemar, Johnny Sayles, Joy Lovejoy....all a long time ago

Edited September 26, 2010 by Voice of reason

[Russ Vickers]

Russ,. Shifty DJ'd once at at the Blue Lagoon and I don't recall him playing anything special at that time! Also, the "Johnny Rogers" you bought from the late Johnny Rolfe.

Shifty DJ'd at least a couple of times & he was playing stuff like Phonetics 'Just a Boys Dream' which had yet to take off properly again, I thought this n others were very special ......Johnny Rogers was bought from John yes, but came from Nigels collection which John had recently bought when Nige sold up, I dont think JR had even played it..........there was some great stuff in that collection & I had quite a few of em..........

Others that graced the decks:

Roger Banks

Chris Dale

Irish Greg

Shay

Tony Ellis

Ian Clark

Dave Abbott

Ged

Molly

Matt from Trowbridge

The Woons

Gary Todd

Ray Gillen

Ben Summers

LLoyd Attrill

Jo Wallace

There's loads more too, I might remember others later........

Best Russ

Edited March 22, 2011 by Russ Vickers

[Russ Vickers]

It was already going by the early 70Ts and before that was an all-nighter called the Portsmouth

Marina. Started in response to the sailors (who mostly came from up North) wanting a kosher NS

venue. A gaggle of the Addlestone crowd used to go...............

Chris L

Marina started in the late 6ts & continued into the early 7ts, then renamed the Sound Barrier. Gary Todd also did several Allnighters there in the late 8ts early 9ts, great Nighter, highly illegal, but ignored by the local authorities as they were to busy breaking up ilegal Raves in the county side lol.

Best Russ

Edited March 22, 2011 by Russ Vickers

[Paul R]

Blue Lagoon is back on on the last friday of every month. Myself & Ray Gillen were there last month.

Paul

[Russ Vickers]

Blue Lagoon is back on on the last friday of every month. Myself & Ray Gillen were there last month.

Paul

I know............wont be the same though, they were good times.

Best Russ

Edited March 22, 2011 by Russ Vickers

[Guest numnutz]

Blue Lagoon is back on on the last friday of every month. Myself & Ray Gillen were there last month.

Paul

Do you mean there is a Northern Soul night in the Lagoon

Haven't seen it advertised

I currently go to Mojo's for my fix and also The Loft in The Kings has a monthly soul night

Being a Cosham boy the Lagoon is very handy

[Paul R]

Do you mean there is a Northern Soul night in the Lagoon

Haven't seen it advertised

I currently go to Mojo's for my fix and also The Loft in The Kings has a monthly soul night

Being a Cosham boy the Lagoon is very handy

Looking at the events diary on here, the next one appears to be the 23rd April.

Paul

[Guest Glynn Jones]

2011 DATES

Feb 26th

Apr 23rd

Jul 23rd

Sep 10th

Nov 19th

The Blue Lagoon Portsmouth

playing what you want to hear

at

Hilsea Lido

8pm - 1am

London Road,

Portsmouth,

PO2 9RP

Resident DJs Keith Barnes & Mark Swift

Also handy for us "Grovers":thumbsup:

[Guest numnutz]

cheers for that

St Georges Day eh 2 reasons to celebrate then

[Matt]

Used to love these nites run by Johnny & Beccy Rolfe- the weekend certainly started here. I'll always be thankful for Mr & Mrs Rolfe for letting me play a few tunes to start the nites off and for some of the tunes Johnny sold me over the years on the way in! I met loads of friends for the very first time at this venue , too many to name just now but they know who they are- a great social occasion with a wide spread of tunes thrown in!

[Guest CapitolSC]

Used to go quite a lot in the late 80s

We used to pile on the train and knew when we was near as there was that old dock with all the scrap ships half sunk in it

Always thought the music was great down there,Stafford and 100 club 80s period soul

Al H

[Russ Vickers]

I think the night could be better promoted, one of the previous posts is a case in point. I would also suggest the music policy could be more specific, I interpret 'Playing What You Want to Hear' to mean exclusively oldies, but I could be wrong..???

There are a lot more people who would attend this night if they knew when it was on..........its not just a case of banging it on SS, you gotta get out there & work it............I also seem to remember when the night was revived & a post along the lines of getting some of the previous DJ;s on again............to my knowledge & I could be wrong, to date I know that none of the DJ's I mentioned above, including myself has been ask to DJ..........not that its a problem, just strange that this should be stated & then nothing ?.

I have no idea whether the night has been successful or not, what I do know is, if the night was promoted properly this venue would be potentially a 'lock out'.

Good luck & do the promotion right, then the full potential will be realised .

Best Russ

23rd

Jul 23rd

Sep 10th

Nov 19th

The Blue Lagoon Portsmouth

playing what you want to hear

at

Hilsea Lido

8pm - 1am

London Road,

Portsmouth,

PO2 9RP

Resident DJs Keith Barnes & Mark Swift

Also handy for us "Grovers":thumbsup:

[Soulfulswifty]

Thanks for your kind remarks Russ

would love to see you there, many of the old crowd attend (and theres still many more)

we really dont need to promote much more as attendance is quite high as you know it is a popular event with many memories for a lot of people

as for DJs we have asked Ben Summers, Derek Mead, Shay, Matt (whos playing 23rd April) and others

as for music we want people to enjoy themselves

if they ask for it, and we have it, we play it !

hope to see you there

Mark & Keith

[Guest CapitolSC]

Had such briliiant times at the Blue Lagoon, was a top night out with friends, class music and you could even get food there ! sx

[Philt]

went to maybe half a dozen early 90s as I recall, when we were living in Brighton. Didn't know too many other punters but remember Lloyd n Julie of course and Rick in particular. Seem to remember things like Tangeers, Big Daddy Rogers and Patrice Holloway being spun on a fairly regular basis round that time. All good, happy days

[Guest proudlove]

Pompey................anyone know one punch Justin?

[Guest Big C]

Marina started in the late 6ts & continued into the early 7ts, then renamed the Sound Barrier. Gary Todd also did several Allnighters there in the late 8ts early 9ts, great Nighter, highly illegal, but ignored by the local authorities as they were to busy breaking up ilegal Raves in the county side lol.

Best Russ

Does this bring back any memories?

[Mal C]

.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Mal.C.

[Russ Vickers]

Does this bring back any memories?

Wow.........thats brilliant. Do you have any more memoribilia or memories to share. What about the Birdcage ?. I'm far to young to have attended these venues, but have an avid interest in how the Soul Music scene developed in the area. Do we know each other, maybe we have mutual friends - Ray Gillen maybe ?.

Thanks for posting

Russ

[Guest Big C]

Russ,

You might find this link interesting - plenty about the Birdcage -

https://michaelcooper.org.uk/C/birdcage.htm

The Birdcage was closed by the time I started going to Pompey in early '69 - the Marina was the venue of choice and was soon to become an all-nighter - hence the attraction!

Can't remember any of the local lads from those days I'm afraid. Over thirty years later and I wound up working in Pompey for a few years and seeing some of the old places brought back a few (very hazy) memories.

Here's a few bits and piecs that I've trawled off the net that you might like.

Clive

A photo of Ricky's Club, which later became the Marina and then the Sound Barrier

[Guest Glynn Jones]

The Lagoon was absolutely packed on saturday. never mind the dancefloor, there was hardly any room in the outside smoking area.

Like most people, there is some music I like and some I don't, but I would be a very happy man if Mssrs Vickers, Csordas and Abbot were invited to DJ.

Edited May 13, 2011 by Glynn Jones

[Russ Vickers]

Russ,

You might find this link interesting - plenty about the Birdcage -

https://michaelcooper.../C/birdcage.htm

The Birdcage was closed by the time I started going to Pompey in early '69 - the Marina was the venue of choice and was soon to become an all-nighter - hence the attraction!

Can't remember any of the local lads from those days I'm afraid. Over thirty years later and I wound up working in Pompey for a few years and seeing some of the old places brought back a few (very hazy) memories.

Here's a few bits and piecs that I've trawled off the net that you might like.

Clive

A photo of Ricky's Club, which later became the Marina and then the Sound Barrier

Thats brilliant mate, thank you for the link & photos........& also your recollections.

Best Russ

[Guest VOR]

Shifty DJ'd at least a couple of times & he was playing stuff like Phonetics 'Just a Boys Dream' which had yet to take off properly again, I thought this n others were very special ......Johnny Rogers was bought from John yes, but came from Nigels collection which John had recently bought when Nige sold up, I dont think JR had even played it..........there was some great stuff in that collection & I had quite a few of em..........

Others that graced the decks:

Roger Banks

Chris Dale

Irish Greg

Shay

Tony Ellis

Ian Clark

Dave Abbott

Ged

Molly

Matt from Trowbridge

The Woons

Gary Todd

Ray Gillen

Ben Summers

LLoyd Attrill

Jo Wallace

There's loads more too, I might remember others later........

Best Russ

Russ, try using your mouth to talk out off. The Phonetics was played by Johnny Rolfe, not Shifty! The Johnny Rogers was also played by JR, at the Blue Lagoon. JR bought a few dozen discs from Nigel Bird, (call that a collection if you want). the only record you bought from JR, from this "Collection", was the Johnny Rogers! Ray Gillen never spun a tune at the Blue Lagoon during JR's Tenure, neither did Molly. also, Toddy very rarely attended, let alone DJ'd.

[Russ Vickers]

Russ, try using your mouth to talk out off. The Phonetics was played by Johnny Rolfe, not Shifty! The Johnny Rogers was also played by JR, at the Blue Lagoon. JR bought a few dozen discs from Nigel Bird, (call that a collection if you want). the only record you bought from JR, from this "Collection", was the Johnny Rogers! Ray Gillen never spun a tune at the Blue Lagoon during JR's Tenure, neither did Molly. also, Toddy very rarely attended, let alone DJ'd.

Yes, you could be right. Long time ago now.

Shifty definitly played the Phonetics when he DJ'd, sure John may have had a copy too. Nigel sold Johnny almost all of his records, not a massive amount, but it was a collection of sorts.

As well as Johnny Rogers I had, Anthony & the Aqua Lads, The Stoppers, Continental Showstoppers & a couple more. Not sure if all were from John now, may have had some direct from Nigel. I'm sure John would have given JRogers a spin before passing it on. One thing is for sure, John was very kind with regards to payment, allowing me installments, otherwise I could never had afforded a record like that, thats for sure.

Gary Todd did DJ once or twice, altho he didnt attend often.

Molly definitly DJ'd, see posts above, maybe when Keith & Maxine took over.

The point is 'Voice of Reason', the Blue Lagoon was a great venue & there were some brilliant records spun there. I have very fond memories of the place & it was one of the best Soul Nights in the area for many years were I met many of my closest friends.

One thing I would like to ask tho, is why the initial rude comment ?. I'm sure we know each other, so dont be shy get in touch.

Happy New Year

Russ

[Nickg]

On 1/14/2012 at 17:50, VOR said:

Russ, try using your mouth to talk out off. The Phonetics was played by Johnny Rolfe, not Shifty! The Johnny Rogers was also played by JR, at the Blue Lagoon. JR bought a few dozen discs from Nigel Bird, (call that a collection if you want). the only record you bought from JR, from this "Collection", was the Johnny Rogers! Ray Gillen never spun a tune at the Blue Lagoon during JR's Tenure, neither did Molly. also, Toddy very rarely attended, let alone DJ'd.

Hi Vor,

Quite a terse response, any chance of an intro please:

Thanks

Nick

[Ben Summers]

An admirable display of soulful spirit, Russ. Very reasoned, in fact!

The good old Blue Lagoon. Yes, I've been asked to DJ, and it would fun to do it. I'd happily go as a punter if someone would give me a lift there and back! (And Russ, I haven't forgotten about those old fliers...)